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Shooter may have killed fetus, too.
Two young men charged with shooting a pregnant woman as she lay in a vacant lot could face an additional murder charge of killing the woman's fetus, a detective investigating the case said yesterday.
Tracy Owen, 32, was due to give birth any day and may have been in labor when she was killed early Monday morning, said Metro police detective Robert Swisher.
Antonio Dejesus Idelfonso, 17, and Eliseo Marcelino-Quintero, 22, told police they killed the woman because they thought they had hit her with their pickup truck and were afraid they would get into trouble, Swisher said.
Swisher said Idelfonso shot Owen and told his roommate after the slaying that the woman was crying for help when the men stopped. Idelfonso told police that he responded, ''Here's your help,'' and shot her five times in the upper body, according to the detective. One of the bullets struck the fetus, Swisher said.
''In my 22 years on the job, I have never seen anyone executed, and I mean executed, because someone thought they had hit the person with a vehicle,'' Swisher said. ''It sickens me.''
Dr. Amy McMaster, the assistant medical examiner who performed Owen's autopsy, will not release any information on the case until toxicology results are completed in several weeks.
Swisher, however, said the medical examiner's office told him that Owen was in the late stages of pregnancy and could have given birth at any time. He said there was no indication Owen had been struck by a vehicle.
Owen was walking at 4 a.m. in the 200 block of Plus Park Boulevard when the men drove by, police said.
Investigators think Owen stumbled and fell down.
The men, thinking they had hit her with the vehicle, got out of the pickup and Idelfonso shot her, Swisher said.
The detective said he did not know why Owen was walking in that area at that time.
At Idelfonso's detention hearing yesterday in Davidson County Juvenile Court, Owen's brother, David Owen, told WKRN-Channel 2 that he had been sobbing all day and was still in shock. Attempts by The Tennessean to contact David Owen were unsuccessful last night.
''She had a great attitude and was always smiling,'' he told WKRN. ''She just loved everybody.''
Little is known about the victim, a self-employed house cleaner who had at least a dozen addresses in the past 10 years.
Attempts to reach those who knew her at her most recent address, an apartment on Thompson Place, were unsuccessful.
A judge ruled at the juvenile detention hearing that Idelfonso will remain in custody on the charges and scheduled a hearing March 2 to determine whether the teen will be tried as an adult, Assistant District Attorney Jeff Burks said.
Although Marcelino-Quintero did not pull the trigger, he was charged with murder because he was the driver of the pickup, had knowledge of the shooting, and cleaned the murder weapon and placed it at his ex-girlfriend's apartment on Thompson Place, Swisher said.
There was no indication that the suspects knew the victim.
Before the killing the suspects had been shooting at cars in the parking lot of Berkeley Ridge Apartments on Plus Park Boulevard, about a block from the suspects' apartment, Swisher said.
After the slaying, they drove to Marcelino-Quintero's ex-girlfriend's apartment, cleaned the gun and fell asleep, he said.
Investigators arrested them after a witness told police he had seen them shooting at cars and recognized them. Police then went to their apartment, where a roommate told them they had said they had hit a woman with their pickup and then shot her.
Police found them at the ex-girlfriend's apartment, brought them in for an interview, and they admitted the shooting, Swisher said.
Fetus death law fans controversy
Tennessee is among 28 states with laws allowing prosecutors to seek a murder charge when a fetus is killed. These state laws, and a proposed federal law, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, have stirred controversy between anti-abortion and abortion-rights advocates.
If a person can be charged with murder for killing a fetus, some anti-abortion advocates argue that women who have abortions also should be charged with murder.
Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman said Tennessee's law applies to any fetus that is viable, or able to live outside of the womb. Thurman said his office does not have the file on the Tracy Owen case, and that the medical examiner's office will have to determine whether her fetus was viable.
Thank God TN has the death penalty. Just goes to show that the world is full of people with no regard for life, and that is up to the individual to protect themselves. Ironically, Oleg mentioned in his model search post that he was considering doing a poster about a pregnant woman defending herself. Such a poster would be especially poignant here in Nashville right now.
Frank
Shooter may have killed fetus, too.
Two young men charged with shooting a pregnant woman as she lay in a vacant lot could face an additional murder charge of killing the woman's fetus, a detective investigating the case said yesterday.
Tracy Owen, 32, was due to give birth any day and may have been in labor when she was killed early Monday morning, said Metro police detective Robert Swisher.
Antonio Dejesus Idelfonso, 17, and Eliseo Marcelino-Quintero, 22, told police they killed the woman because they thought they had hit her with their pickup truck and were afraid they would get into trouble, Swisher said.
Swisher said Idelfonso shot Owen and told his roommate after the slaying that the woman was crying for help when the men stopped. Idelfonso told police that he responded, ''Here's your help,'' and shot her five times in the upper body, according to the detective. One of the bullets struck the fetus, Swisher said.
''In my 22 years on the job, I have never seen anyone executed, and I mean executed, because someone thought they had hit the person with a vehicle,'' Swisher said. ''It sickens me.''
Dr. Amy McMaster, the assistant medical examiner who performed Owen's autopsy, will not release any information on the case until toxicology results are completed in several weeks.
Swisher, however, said the medical examiner's office told him that Owen was in the late stages of pregnancy and could have given birth at any time. He said there was no indication Owen had been struck by a vehicle.
Owen was walking at 4 a.m. in the 200 block of Plus Park Boulevard when the men drove by, police said.
Investigators think Owen stumbled and fell down.
The men, thinking they had hit her with the vehicle, got out of the pickup and Idelfonso shot her, Swisher said.
The detective said he did not know why Owen was walking in that area at that time.
At Idelfonso's detention hearing yesterday in Davidson County Juvenile Court, Owen's brother, David Owen, told WKRN-Channel 2 that he had been sobbing all day and was still in shock. Attempts by The Tennessean to contact David Owen were unsuccessful last night.
''She had a great attitude and was always smiling,'' he told WKRN. ''She just loved everybody.''
Little is known about the victim, a self-employed house cleaner who had at least a dozen addresses in the past 10 years.
Attempts to reach those who knew her at her most recent address, an apartment on Thompson Place, were unsuccessful.
A judge ruled at the juvenile detention hearing that Idelfonso will remain in custody on the charges and scheduled a hearing March 2 to determine whether the teen will be tried as an adult, Assistant District Attorney Jeff Burks said.
Although Marcelino-Quintero did not pull the trigger, he was charged with murder because he was the driver of the pickup, had knowledge of the shooting, and cleaned the murder weapon and placed it at his ex-girlfriend's apartment on Thompson Place, Swisher said.
There was no indication that the suspects knew the victim.
Before the killing the suspects had been shooting at cars in the parking lot of Berkeley Ridge Apartments on Plus Park Boulevard, about a block from the suspects' apartment, Swisher said.
After the slaying, they drove to Marcelino-Quintero's ex-girlfriend's apartment, cleaned the gun and fell asleep, he said.
Investigators arrested them after a witness told police he had seen them shooting at cars and recognized them. Police then went to their apartment, where a roommate told them they had said they had hit a woman with their pickup and then shot her.
Police found them at the ex-girlfriend's apartment, brought them in for an interview, and they admitted the shooting, Swisher said.
Fetus death law fans controversy
Tennessee is among 28 states with laws allowing prosecutors to seek a murder charge when a fetus is killed. These state laws, and a proposed federal law, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, have stirred controversy between anti-abortion and abortion-rights advocates.
If a person can be charged with murder for killing a fetus, some anti-abortion advocates argue that women who have abortions also should be charged with murder.
Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman said Tennessee's law applies to any fetus that is viable, or able to live outside of the womb. Thurman said his office does not have the file on the Tracy Owen case, and that the medical examiner's office will have to determine whether her fetus was viable.
Thank God TN has the death penalty. Just goes to show that the world is full of people with no regard for life, and that is up to the individual to protect themselves. Ironically, Oleg mentioned in his model search post that he was considering doing a poster about a pregnant woman defending herself. Such a poster would be especially poignant here in Nashville right now.
Frank
:banghead: 
